Cooking creates undesirable by-products such as smoke and odor that can pollute an inhabited airspace if they are not removed or reclaimed. Consequently, many devices have been invented for addressing the problem of airborne cooking contaminants. For example, ducted range hoods remove the contaminated air from the inhabited area, while ductless range hoods intake air from the cooking area, remove at least some of the contaminants, and then re-circulate the resulting exhaust air back into the inhabited space.
Currently available re-circulating (ductless) residential cooking ventilation systems typically rely on an ineffective grease separator and even less effective optional thin odor “filter”. Laboratory testing of these conventional re-circulating systems has indicated that, at best, only a portion of the cooking contaminants are removed from the exhaust air. These conventional systems are particularly ineffective in removing smoke and lingering odors. Furthermore, conventional grease separators and odor filters, when used, block the natural inflow into the range hood “collector” and eliminate necessary capture space.
Hence, given the significant disadvantages of currently available cooking ventilation systems, new cooking ventilation apparatus and methods are desirable for removing cooking by-products, including grease, odors, and smoke, from inhabited areas.